Miami Book Fair

How to Sequence a Prizewinning Poetry Manuscript Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello

Robert Frost said that the last poem you write for a manuscript is the book itself, expanding on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s belief that poetry is “the best words in the best order.” Great writers are intentional about everything, from syllable count to the order in which each poem is presented. Part lecture and part workshop, this class will give you a hands-on approach to finding the optimal order for your manuscript that maximizes each poem’s strengths to keep readers (and contest judges) hooked. We will discuss why the sequence of a book matters for publication vs. prizewinning publication, how to organize your own manuscript, and what it takes to turn your pile of poems into a prizewinning publication. Examples will be provided to demonstrate a range of sequencing styles and themes. This class is open to writers at all stages, whether you have just a few poems and an idea of theme, are halfway through a project, or are polishing your final manuscript to submit for publication.

Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello is the author of Last Train to the Midnight Market (Finishing Line Press) and Hour of the Ox (University of Pittsburgh), which won the 2015 AWP Donald Hall Prize for Poetry and the 2016 Florida Book Award bronze medal for poetry. She has received two Academy of American Poets prizes, poetry fellowships from Kundiman and the Knight Foundation, and her work has appeared in Best New Poets 2015, Florida Book Review, The Georgia Review, and more. She serves as an editor for Jai-Alai Magazine and producer for The Working Poet Radio Show. www.marcicalabretta.com.